Lewis Hamilton won a race long fight with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at a gripping, wet-dry British Grand Prix to take his first victory since December 2021.
Hamilton had just enough to hold off a late charge from Verstappen’s Red Bull to take his 104th career win, and his ninth at home to become the record-holder for victories at a single circuit.
Verstappen, who had struggled for pace through much of a race that was hit by two separate periods of rain, came alive in the closing laps to take second place from Norris, who grabbed the final position on the podium.
Hamilton appeared to be in tears in the car as he told his team: “This means so much to me,” as they congratulated him over the radio.
“This one means a lot to us all,” his engineer Peter Bonnington said. “I love you, Bono,” Hamilton replied.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described the win as a fairytale for them and Hamilton.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was also in the lead fight for the first half of the race, took fourth place ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
In front of a crowd of 164,000 people cheering the British drivers – and especially Hamilton – to the rafters despite the inclement weather, the top drivers and three leading teams put on a superb show throughout.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton led the early laps after locking out the front row of the grid for the team, while Verstappen passed Norris around the outside of Turn Four on the opening lap to run third.
But the Red Bull did not initially show its usually formidable race pace and Norris was able to reclaim third place on lap 15 with a pass into Stowe corner.
Piastri followed the Briton through two laps later just as the first shower of rain started, bringing the McLarens, who had chosen a higher-downforce set-up than Mercedes and Red Bull, into their own.
Hamilton made the first move, though, passing Russell into Stowe on lap 18.
A few corners later, both Mercedes drivers slid off the track at Turn Two at the start of lap 19 as they wrestled for grip on the slippery track and Norris pounced, passing Russell at Turn Four before closing on Hamilton and passing him at Turn One on lap 20.
Piastri moved up into second behind him and the McLarens ran one-two for five laps as the track began to dry.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Ambassador Marvin Yobana, has commended the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for embarking on an inspection tour of Bori Zonal Hospital.
The chairman, in a statement signed by his Director of Press, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, said the governor’s visit has given hope to the people of Khana Local Government Area for a speedy completion of the hospital.
Yobana stated this last Friday at Bori, the headquarters of Khana LGA, during the swearing-in ceremony of 1,000 political appointees for various positions in the LGA.
He expressed optimism that the governor would keep to his promise of completing the hospital in due time.
He noted that the hospital, when completed, would afford the people of South East Senatorial District, which comprises Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro and Oyigbo, the opportunity to access healthcare services within their locality without necessarily going to Port Harcourt for medical treatment.
Yobana charged the political appointees to be good ambassadors of the LGA, and work in tandem with the vision of the Fubara-led government to set a new bar in governance of the State.
The council boss promised to meet with the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) to provide electricity supply for people of the area to boost businesses and expand revenue generation.
He also expressed his readiness to meet with the Road Transport Union of Nigeria and Okada Riders Association in the area to discuss modalities on revenue generation.
Yobana reiterated his earlier directives for dissolution of all revenue collection committees appointed by the previous administration in the LGA, warning them to stop parading themselves as council revenue collectors.
He also announced the suspension of revenue collection in all markets in Khana Local Government Area due to the council for a period of three months.
The council chairman revealed that he would soon set up neighbourhood watch security outfit to support the security architecture in the area.
He promised to increase the stipends of security agencies and also provide them security vehicles to boost their morale and aid their operations in the area.
He urged hoodlums operating on the Ogoni axis of the East West Road and other parts of Khana Local Government Area to turn a new leaf, saying his administration will not hesitate to declare them persona non-grata if they fail to change.
Some of those sworn in include the Secretary of the Council, Grace Inayor; Assistant Secretary, Nwineemanah Kinakah, and Chief of Staff to the Chairman, Alfred Letam.
The Tide reports that the ceremony was well attended by members of Simplified Movement and also sons and daughters of the area.

By: Kiadum Edookor

A prominent politician in Rivers State and stakeholder of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Opobo/Nkoro Ward 2, Hon. Emmanuel Karibi-Toby, has urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, establish Federal Universities of Agriculture in Rivers and Bayelsa States.
This, he said, will provide the much needed manpower and technologically – oriented skilled workers, who would be able to go into self-employed large scale farming that would provide both food and livestock in the country.
He said when established, it will create employment of youths and other Nigerians in the near future and subsequently other businesses will develop.
According to him, the establishment of the universities of Agriculture became imperative to enhance the provision of the envisaged agricultural technology institutions that had eluded these sister states for long as obtained in other states of the country.
The grassroot mobiliser and philanthropic leader further said that President Bola Tinubu should bear in mind that apart from Rivers and Bayelsa States, others are enjoying the presence of Federal Universities of Agriculture and wondered why the case of Rivers and Bayelsa States should be different.
Karibi-Toby, who questioned the absence of such universities in Rivers and Bayesla States urged President Tinubu to heed to “this clarion call” to establish the universities in the two states he tagged “catchment states”.
Meanwhile, Hon. Karibi-Toby also said the emergence of Sir Siminalayi Fubara as Governor and leader of Rivers State has brought to an end the era of god-fatherism in Rivers politics.
He lauded the development mantra of the Governor in the past one year within which multi- dimensional roads and other people-oriented projects were provided, and the welfare of Rivers workers and retirees ware genuinely being taken into consideration.
Describing the Governor as a “God-sent” leader with the wisdom, love, peaceful mature, empathy and interest of developing mankind, he assured of Rivers people’s unflinching loyalty and support to the administration.
For those who, he said, “toe the line of fomenting troubles in the state”, he cautioned them to desist from such act for the sake of posterity.

By: Bethel Toby